About Us

Ovation Theatres Limited is a highly successful theatre production company founded by John and Katie Plews who, since 1985, have been running the theatrical production and corporate event company, Ovation Productions. Ovation Theatres is responsible for running Upstairs at the Gatehouse, a 140 seat fringe theatre in Highgate, North London.

Ovation was established to produce business conferences, product launches, road shows, award ceremonies and corporate videos. The company has won two Gold IVCA Awards (2000 & 2004) for Corporate Live Events as well as a Silver and Bronze in 2002.
A Gold Award for organising the ‘Best Corporate Event’ was also bestowed on Ovation by business magazine ‘Marketing Event’ in 2000.

Theatrically Ovation have staged several productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival including Black Comedy (1996) and Forever Plaid (1999). This high energy American musical then continued on a national tour visiting over sixty venues around the UK. In 2001 Ovation returned to Edinburgh with Jessica Martin’s acclaimed one woman show Veronique – a Lifelong Cult. In 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010 Ovation produced Jim Bowen’s show ‘You Can’t Beat A Bit of Bully’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, playing to sell-out audiences every year.
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Successful London productions include:From a Jack to a King; It’s Only Make Believe; A Slice of Saturday Night; Little Shop of Horrors; Return to the Forbidden Planet; Cole; Hot Mikado; The Wiz; The Young Ones; Victoria Wood’s Talent; Into the Woods; Lee Hall’s Cooking With Elvis; Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; High Society; Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story; The Drowsy Chaperone; Buried Child; Woody Allen’s Play It Again Sam; Guys and Dolls; Iceberg – Right Ahead!; Goodnight Mrs Calabash; David Mamet’s Life in the Theatre; and Crazy For You; Avenue Q; Kiss Me Kate, The Blonde Bombshells of 1943; Singin’ in the Rain; There’s A Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis;Legally Blonde; Anything Goes; and Top Hat.